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Catalyst Proposes 25% Women on FP500 Boards by 2017

Teaser:

In a bold move that could transform the composition of Canada’s corporate boardrooms, Catalyst issues a call to action for Canadian corporations to increase the overall proportion of FP500 board seats held by women to 25 percent by 2017. Catalyst is initially supported in this initiative by RBC and Linamar Corporation, who have signed the Catalyst Accord.

In a bold move that could transform the composition of Canada’s corporate boardrooms, Catalyst issues a call to action for Canadian corporations to increase the overall proportion of FP500 board seats held by women to 25 percent by 2017. Catalyst is initially supported in this initiative by RBC and Linamar Corporation, who have signed the Catalyst Accord.

“The Catalyst Accord is more than a call to action—it closes the loop. At its core, it shows a highly focused commitment to increasing board diversity on the part of corporate Canada and it provides the tools to create that change,” said Deborah Gillis, Senior Vice President, Membership & Global Operations, Catalyst. “Not only can corporate Canada address this challenge, as other countries have done, but it can also demonstrate how much it prizes diversity—and smart business practices—by exercising leadership on this issue.”

The Catalyst Accord was created in response to the 2011 Catalyst Census: Financial Post 500 Women Board Directors, just released, which shows that the proportion of women on Canadian boards rose only half a percentage point between 2009 and 2011. Women currently hold just 14.5 percent of board seats in FP500 companies, and 10.3 percent in public companies, the report revealed. Additionally, nearly 40 percent of FP500 companies and over 46 percent of public FP500 companies have zero women serving on their boards.